Four in a two-bed!

[Ella1980]

Anyone else?!

Long story short, I moved into a privately rented two-bed with my two small boys five years ago after I left a very abusive husband. Not ideal (damp/mould issues) but all I could afford on my own.

We are still there, but now my fiance lives with us and my boys are now 9 and 11. Up until Jan we both worked ft-myself as a primary teacher and my fiance in social care supporting vulnerable adults. My wage around £23K last year, my fiance's around £22K. Not enough to buy a bigger house. To make matters worse, I now find myself very unexpectedly out of work.

Today online I saw was what would be a decent rental-two bed still, but at least free from damp and mould. Two large double bedrooms. However, when I contacted the letting agent they said the landlord would not take children!!! She also then made me feel awful as she questioned why any family of four would want a two-bed home. She also said she had "more suitable" properties on her books for a rent of between £1,500 and £3,500 per month. My fiance doesn't even earn the lowest of these figures in a month and I only do normally by about an extra £100!!

I feel so inadequate.

Anybody else ever been in a similar situation?

Ella

@PorpentinaScamander I feel your pain with the bathroom situation. How is someone always needs a poo as soon as you've gone to have a nice bath?!!
I must admit that on ocassion my smallest boy when he was younger did go and have a wee behind the big tree at the top of our back "jungle" garden because he couldn't keep it in any longer!!!!

Oh ella that is tough!!! Have you spoken to women's aid? There may be a support group which could help.
I can see why you feel that way, but I doubt your boys would agree. A palace run by an abusive bully is no home. You are so so strong to come this far!!!

We were 4 in a 2 bed until just over a year ago.

Daily ventilation and the use of a dehumidifier will help with the damp until you can persuade your landlord to check it out. If you're hanging washing to dry, that doesn't help, so find an alternative, if that's te case. A dehumidifier would help you there, though.

Hi Ella,

First of all, you are amazing for having taken your children out of an abusive situation, worked full time whilst raising them and giving them a lovely secure and safe home. This now, is just a blip and it will get better.

I work in housing support, so families and vulnerable women will be referred to us and we find suitable accommodation, liaise with social housing and letting agents on their behalf. Can you google if there’s a housing support charity in your area? They will most likely have a list of suitable landlords.

Also, give your local social housing association a ring as here they are always building affordable homes for working families under a certain threshold.

@PearlandRubies194
Thank you very much. The problem comes in that because we are (or usually are) both working we don't qualify for council help. Ex doesn't have to pay me a penny for the boys. We can't move far from the area for many reasons and the problem is housing in this area of the county is expensive. Rentals rarely come up and houses to buy are out of the question financially. We have a dehumidifier but also issues such as a bathroom window that is broken and no ventilation vents thingies (not a technical term!)

We are paying £680 per month for this damp two-bed and it's going up to at least £700 next renewal!!! How does this compare to average?

We owned a 2 bed end terrace in London with 2 dd. We contemplated buying a bigger house but ours really was fine for our needs.

We now live in a 3 bed but back in Aus where it really would be weird with so many big houses!

The mould is an issue, but the size of your house isn't.